Hello all, Since all of you here passed level II, I would like some of your input. Here is my situation. I just took Level I, I’m hoping I passed. I would be surprised if I didn’t. If I did pass, I would like to take Level II this coming June. Here is the catch. As you know, you can’t register for level II before passing level I which I’ll find out end of Jan. This means that I can order schweser only after that time, as I get it free through company, but need to show that I’m registered to take the exam. As you can see I won’t be able to start studying till beg. of February. Is it enough time? I’m working and would not be able to put more than 1.5 hours a day. Weekends I can do 5 hours or so a day. So I can put 15-20 hours a week. There are 17 weeks, and I would take a week off before the exam. In the end I can put around 250-300 hours in those 4 months. Is it enough? I have degree in Finanace and Accounting and I work in auditing, so accounting stuff is not hard for me to grasp. I’m not sure what’s on Level II to begin with. Should I aim for June 09? or skip till June 10? Any input, or pointing to right direction is greatly appreciated.
Aim for June I wrote level I in dec and then level II in June. I have a similar background as yourself and studied around 250 hours. I used Stalla and was able to pass on the 1st try. Good luck to you
Thanks, I think that’s what I’m gonna do.
No it is not enough. Do not take it if thats all the time you have.
I agree with mpnoonan. The fact that you even have to ask this question indicates that your mind is too weak for this endeavor.
I say give it a shot (I asked myself the same question and passed, so my mind was evidently no too weak). I did about 290 hours, started in March.
mpnoonan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No it is not enough. Do not take it if thats all > the time you have. I disagree, You have the background so you should be able to do it if you make your study time productive
Yes, you can do it easily. And no reason you can’t start before February. If you don’t pass L1, you’ll still have your notes for next time.
supersharpshooter Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I agree with mpnoonan. The fact that you even > have to ask this question indicates that your mind > is too weak for this endeavor. What does that mean? How does asking this makes my mind seem too weak to you?
Thanks for the pointers. I talked to my friend and borrowing first book so I’ll start in Jan and see how it goes.
Same as me. i’m Dec 08 level 1 taker and plan to take Level 2 in coming jun. Any one here can advise how difficulty is level2 compare to level1.
L1 is easy. Level 2 is about 20 x harder.
level II is much harder
I had the same situation a year ago and I passed both Level 1 in December and Level 2 in June. It requires lots of your commitment, but if you can live with it, it’s more than possible. Just think if you can concentrate on it and forget about life. If you can - there’s no reason to waste 1 year for waiting. In any case when I enrolled to level 2 next day after level 1 results were released, my thought was “If I fail, I will live with that. However I won’t forgive myself to wimp out and dont give it a try.”
If you can spare 250 hours between the beginning of February and the end of May, then you can pass. You will obviously require some kind of brain however. If you can’t (or don’t) then you’ll struggle.
thanks kjarro… that’s how i think about it
It can be done, but you really need to make sure that you are totally committed before you start. After that, you have to convince family/significant others around that it is a good idea. Don’t skip this point. You will need their help. If you are young and single, no problem. If not, You are going to piss them off something awful by the end of your prep. There is no reason to put yourself or anybody around you through the pain/frustration if you think you are going to burnout or give a half-hearted effort. In that little of time if you aren’t prepared to take L2 to the woodshed, then before you know it, you will open your eyes and realize that YOU are in behind the woodshed. Not good.
my fiance understands, she’ll be studying for CPA during that time too. I’m used to the fact that studying, work and gym pretty much sum up all of my activities. What I like about having only 4-5 months is that I don’t have opportunity to streach studying, and have no life for 8-10 months. I guess we’ll see if that’s a good idea this summer. again thanks everybody for the input
I studied for and wrote the Level II exam in 3 months and a week, starting on March 1, after writing the Level I exam in December (and taking the Series 7 and 66 exams both in February). I worked the full time as well and did not have time to study during the day except my 30 min. lunch break. It can be done. The key is to make sure you have ample time and minimal distractions after work during the week. Also, I would add that Equities and FSA are the two largest components of the exam – your FSA will be fresh in mind having just studied it and Equity Valuation is very “learnable” in my opinion. A big thing for me in getting the job done was to take “catch-up days” off from work once in each month leading up to June. That way, even if I was behind my planned schedule, I could make up some ground. Also, I took off the full week before the exam, which I think is an absolute must if you want to get the job done under less-than-ideal circumstances.
take l2 in june. it’s difficulty is overrated if you work hard in those last 3 months.